Bear Cave sits high on the southwest rim of Arch Canyon in San Juan County, Utah, USA. The cave entrance is obscured by trees from views from below and not easily seen from above (i.e. hard to find). On the back wall of the cave is a figure that looks like a black bear, thus the cave's name. It is not clear (to me) if the symbol of the bear is manmade or naturally occurring.

The cave is most easily reached from above by a short 1/2 mile hike from Arch Canyon Road. There is no hiking trail to the cave to speak of, it isn't visited frequently enough to produce one. The easiest access to the cave starts by parking at (37.5682, -109.7416) on Arch Canyon Road and walking about 1/4 mile a little south of due east. At this point study the canyon rim near (37.5660, -109.7360) where you will find just one place do drop down to the first canyon rim shelf. You'll find there a 3-4 rung aluminum ladder to help you off a 8 foot ledge. Once on the shelf the cave is a short 700 feet to the northwest along the canyon shelf.

The hike is not difficult but is not for the feeble-footed, young children or anyone afraid of heights. The 8 foot drop on the ladder will stop dogs too big to be lifted.

If one hikes a little past Bear Cave further along the canyon shelf another similar but smaller cave will be found. The second cave is worth seeing - given the short distance further that must be hiked (300 ft).

Utah is a state located in the westcentral region of the United States of America. Utah is the 13th largest state by area, ranks 34th by population and 10th by population density of the 50 United States. Utah was the 45th state to be admitted into the Union, on January 4, 1896. Utah is landlocked, being bordered by the states of Idaho to the north, Wyoming to the northeast, Nevada on the west, Colorado on the east and Arizona to the south. Utah is very mountainous and is a popular outing destination of the outdoorsman. The state population is about 2.82M with 95% being Caucasian, 2.4% Asian, 1.7% Native American and 1.3% Black. The state capital and largest city is Salt Lake City.Source: wikipedia

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